Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Dyes by Cerium‐Doped Zinc Oxide Nanocones

Abstract

Cerium‐doped zinc oxide (Ce‐ZnO) nanocones with cerium concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 % were synthesized using a sol‐gel method. Their effectiveness as photocatalysts for degrading dyes such as Rhodamine B (RhB), Methylene Orange (MO), and Methylene Violet (MV) was evaluated. The optical and structural properties, particle size distribution, and morphology of these nanocones were examined using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and ultraviolet‐visible (UV‐Vis) spectrophotometry. XRD results confirmed that the nanocones were highly crystalline with a hexagonal wurtzite structure, and a noticeable blue shift was observed in the Ce‐doped ZnO nanocones compared to pure ZnO. The photocatalytic performance under UV exposure showed that cerium doping significantly improved the degradation of RhB, MO, and MV. Notably, ZnO nanocones doped with 1 % cerium exhibited the highest photocatalytic efficiency, achieving 100 % degradation of RhB within 60 minutes. Additionally, 1 % Ce‐ZnO nanocones demonstrated degradation efficiencies of 86.3 % for MO and 74.9 % for MV within the same time frame.